A Jewish luxury handbag mogul is warning that antisemitism and anti-Zionism are like "the new black" in celebrity culture after it was revealed that the son of the founder of the high-end fragrance brand, Jo Malone, associated with highly controversial pro-Hamas Harvard student statement.
First reported by the Daily Mail, 22-year-old Josh Wilcox, the son of perfume mogul Jo Malone is listed as one of the three students who lead the Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee – the group behind a letter that put sole blame on Israel for the massacre carried out by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Jeffery Berk, CEO of the luxury handbag resale marketplace Privé Porter, called out the stark contrast among some in celebrity culture to the tragedy unfolding in the Jewish community to the events in 2020 like George Floyd’s death and rise of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
"Antisemitism and anti-Zionism have become mainstream. It really is ‘the new black,’ all the cool kids are doing it. Why not? All the cool celebrities seem to be OK with it," Berk said.
"Years ago, there was a tidal wave of support for BLM, certainly boosted by the George Floyd tragedy. Heinous indeed, it was a race to be first for celebrities and brands to chime in. This past Friday there was a battle cry heard around the world for a day of rage against the Jews, one of the smallest minority groups in the world," Berk said.
"The celebrities this time around? Kylie Jenner posted, then took it down from pushback," Berk said, noting other celebrities have taken a "both sides," approach.
Earlier this year, Berk launched a non-profit, TruthTells, aimed at holding politicians accountable when they make antisemitic remarks or are anti-Israel. The seed money for the group came from a $275,000 one-of-a-kind sale to Ye, formerly Kanye West which Berk rerouted to TruthTells to after West's public antisemitic tirade.
"It took only hours for a forest fire to rage throughout American universities for alleged Palestinian Solidarity. When the idea Israel’s actions were in response to terrorists killing citizens from many countries, all they did was double down," Berk added.
Berk said that as Jewish students "literally feared for their lives" administration’s "did nothing."
The reason? Antisemitism and anti-Zionism have become mainstream. It really is "the new black", all the cool kids are doing it. So much for safe spaces," he said.
HERE'S WHERE STUDENTS FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE HELD COLLEGE PROTESTS THIS WEEK
Celebrites like Gigi Hadid, Justin Bieber and Mark Ruffalo are among a-listers who took an anti-Israel or "both sides" apporach. Bieber posted on Instagram that he is "hurting for both my Israeli and Palestinian friends,"
"I'm pretty sure we all instinctively know evil when we see it. To villainize all Palestinians or all Israeli people to me seems wrong. I'm not interested in choosing sides, but I am interested in standing with the families who have been brutally taken from us."
"It is horrific to see innocent civilians killed and held hostage, and there is no justification for it. We pray for their safety, as we pray for the safety of the innocent people of Gaza who are being bombarded and besieged," Ruffalo posted on X.
After days of notable silence surrounding the harrowing terror attacks against Israel that shook the global community this past weekend, supermodel Gigi Hadid took to Instagram last week to reaffirm her "deep empathy for the Palestinian struggle.
Hadid, whose father is Palestinian and has previously spoken out in support of Palestinian fighters, failed to mention Hamas by name but condemned the "terrorizing of innocent people" under the guise of the "Free Palestine movement.
The Jo Malone brand was acquired by Estee Lauder in 1999. Following the reports on Wilcox, Jo Malone London appeared to distance itself from its founder in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying "This is an extremely difficult time for everyone and please know we do not condone violence of any kind. At this time, we would like to clarify that Jo Malone the individual has not been affiliated with the Jo Malone London brand since 2006. We continue to lead with kindness."
According to the Daily Mail report, his mother, Jo, didn’t address her son, but said the war in the Middle East had left her "heartbroken" as she branded the attack by Hamas as "abhorrent."
According to the Daily Mail, Wilcox made a statement that he does "not support the letter’s attribution of blame for Saturday’s attacks to Israel."
"I'd like to make clear my personal views in relation to the open letter released by the PSC on October 8th," he said in the statement.
"Over the past few days, we have seen horrific massacres in Israel and as I write this, we are seeing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises unfold in Gaza. In contrast to the PSC open letter, I believe that anyone who inflicts violence on civilians is solely responsible for their actions. Therefore do not support the letter’s attribution of blame for Saturday’s attacks to Israel. Terrorism is never justified under any circumstances," he said.
Wilcox said that he hasn’t been on Harvard’s campus this semester and "was not involved in the drafting or release of the letter."
The statement led by Palestine Solidarity Committee and originally co-signed by roughly 30 student groups was released the evening of Oct. 8, a day after the attacks that resulted in the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. It said Hamas' killing, torture and kidnapping of Israelis "did not occur in a vacuum."
"The apartheid regime is the only one to blame," the statement said, indicating the organizations believed Israel was responsible for the attacks.
"In the context of the unfolding events, this statement can be seen as nothing less than condoning the mass murder of civilians based only on their nationality," the faculty letter states. "We’ve heard reports of even worse instances, with Harvard students celebrating the ‘victory’ or ‘resistance’ on social media."
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Several student groups have students associated with those groups have since denounced the statement after mounting scrutiny from Harvard faculty and business leaders.
Still, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters at nearly two dozen colleges and universities across the country held events in support of the Palestinians following the terrorist attacks in Israel carried out by Hamas.
Fox News Digital's Yael Halon contributed to this report.
